A Lady's Place: Memoirs of Aurora: The Lost Duchess of NewRhinelind
by Drowningblonde
Summary: The lost diary of Lotor's mother has been found! Finally the story of how she became the mother of the Crown Prince of Doom is told in her own words! **Contains Spoilers for Razor's Edge**
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comic and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way. **

A/N:** This story contains spoilers, particularly for Razor's Edge.**

I have long been fascinated by the character of Lotor's mother. She is the character that we know the least about, yet has had, arguably the biggest impact on the Voltron universe of any character. In canon, she was an anonymous Altean/Arusian woman. Most think she was a slave. And maybe she was. But in GoLion, she clearly had significant influence over Zarkon and she was murdered by him for refusing marriage. Or for trying to negotiate on behalf of Altean/Arusian slaves. Well, that's Haggar's/Honerva's version of events and she's as unreliable a narrator as I've ever seen. But what we do know for sure is that she was the paramour of Zarkon, the birth mother of Lotor and her violent end was the source of the rift between father and son and consequently Lotor's oedipal obsession with Allura, who reminded him of her so much. So, without further ado, here is her story, in her own words.

Ok, a little more ado. Sorry. I had originally planned to post this story after I had completed both Razor's Edge and Rites of Passage. However a circumstance has arisen that forces me to move ahead with this much faster than planned. A few days ago, I sent this very chapter to **[REDACTED]**. Well, she's not the only person who's ever read it, and this morning I was informed by them of a new story by a brand new author with a very similar historical premise. A rather strange co-incidence, no? (Someone once said, "There are no co-incidences." I do hope that someone is wrong.) But, since I would hate to be accused of stealing another person's intellectual property, so I will begin posting now. You know, just incase of additional coincidences.

**Edit: Someone is wrong. It was just a co-incidence. Yay! And I decided to switch up the title a bit. More dramatic like this, no? **

**A Lady's Place: Memoirs of Aurora, **

**The Lost Duchess of New Rhinelind and Mother of King Lotor I**

_Edit: I edited to add additional page breaks that were eaten by ff dot net to show more clearly that each diary entry is separated by date and time of day. Apologies for any confusion. -DB_

**09.15.2461**

**06:22**

I can't believe it! I really can't! Everything is happening so quickly. First, my engagement to Alfor, Archduke of Leon and Crown Prince of Altea has been made official and now the trip to Terra for my trousseau! I'm so excited! I've been practicing my Terran for the last two weeks. Nanny says I won't need it because everyone on Terra speaks Common Trade, but I don't want to appear like a colonial bumpkin.

I am bursting with anticipation but the trip is still weeks away. It is absolute torture! They say that Terra is very much like Altea in size and atmosphere, but that nearly every inch of land is developed. From space the continents glitter with man made light like they are covered with jewels. Mother is not coming with me (thanks be to God!) but my brother Joshua will also be going to see to Papa's business affairs. Nanny and two of my maids will accompany me and so I will not be left 'at the mercy of my own foolishness' as Mother likes to say. She thinks my 'impulsive and headstrong ways' will get me into trouble. She says no lady of royal birth should ever be without a chaperone. Especially when travelling in the company of men. It would ruin her reputation. I disagree. She has such outdated notions! You wouldn't believe the things she says a lady must never do!

Although the customs of our forefathers still have strong influences on our culture, Altea is a modern world now. I plan to pay great attention to everything on Terra. I will keep careful notes so that when I am queen (Ah! Queen! First HRH and then HRM! It makes me giddy to think about it!) I can use my station to bring about modern changes to Altea. That is, I mean, with my lord husband's permission of course.

I am sure that he will go along with it. Although I've only met him briefly in person, we correspond nearly everyday. He also feels that many of Altea's restrictive social customs and separatism from the Alliance hold the kingdom back. My maids tell me that I am lucky to be marrying such a progressive minded man. He has promised me that we will usher in a new era of prosperity for Altea and equality for all. Just the thought brings joy to my heart and it is my most hopeful prayer that he is right.

But for now, I must finish making my shopping list. The first thing I plan on exerting my influence on is Altean fashion.

**09.17.2461**

**14:07**

Oh! There is no creature in the Near Universe more abominable than a sister! Ariella is such a troublesome brat. Her impertinence knows no boundaries! Nanny said it was my fault because I'm the eldest and should have more dignity and patience. But, truthfully she is just a brat! I caught her trying on my dresses and playing with my hairpins and cosmetics again. (Which I obviously did not hide well enough! Mother and Nanny and everyone else say it is unseemly for well bred maidens to paint their faces! It is a mark of vanity…and the only adornment a young woman needs is a pure heart! What old fashioned nonsense!)

She always makes such a dreadful mess of things that I can't find anything and what I can find is mismatched or ruined. When I scolded her (perhaps I was a little shrill, but that's beside the point) she screwed her face up at me and told me that I wasn't a queen yet and had no business ordering her around. She is a duchess the same as I. She went on to say that I'll probably never be queen because I'm a tall, scrawny _pulley_ bean and that once Alfor sees that I have knees like a _favi_ he'd send me back to mother and father and they'll lock me in a Hospice. Then I said that she has no room to talk because no one will ever see my knees; but no amount of fabric can cover up what fat, squat little toad she is! And of course she burst into tears and ran crying to Nanny. So, here I am to spend the evening confined to my rooms in contrite reflection on the duties of an eldest child and the sinfulness of vanity and selfishness.

But that is truthfully the furthest thing from my mind. Nothing can dampen my excitement for my trip. I keep imagining how wonderful it will be to go to the country of my ancestors and see the history of it all. Where we came from, Terra, once called Earth. Although I wasn't born there and I can hardly think of it as home, I still feel a strong connection. The place where humanity first gazed up at the heavens and then after many centuries of longing launched itself into the black eternity of space with nothing but faith, engineering and luck.

My family and many of the residents of Altea are from a country called Germany on the European continent. It has existed as a sovereign state for thousands of years. There are castles there that were built before humanity had sailed all the oceans! And roads that were originally paved by the Caesars of long ancient Rome (wherever that was!) Here on Altea nothing is older than two hundred years. For most the first century the First Settlers lived in the interstellar ship that brought them here from Terra until the land was made viable and territories could be mapped and explored. And what buildings that were constructed were destroyed during the First War of Succession. The few walls left standing were made out of concrete and are starting to crumble due to burrow mites that eat the lime in the mortar. It is a constant battle to save our history, what precious little we have of it.

But I've also seen from holos that Terra is like a terribly crowded city that stretches on from one end of the continent to the other. And that there are people who never have seen trees growing naturally from the ground or felt grass under their feet. Their sole experience with nature is to look straight up and see a glimpse of sky between the towering buildings. How amazing that must look! Canyons of mirrored glass and steel shining in the sun soaring straight up in to the sky! And at night the city lights are as bright as day and shine with every color of the rainbow! I can't wait! I really can't!

**09.17.2461**

**16:39**

Uhg! So there IS a creature more terrible and abominable than a sister! It's Nanny! She had spied on me in my rooms and saw that I was not prayerfully reflecting but arranging my hair in some Terran styles I had displayed in a fashion magazine. And trying to see if I could alter some of my gowns to the shorter hemlines that are more in line with the styles there. You could have heard her shrieking on Korrinoth!

She promptly informed Mother of my lack of contrition for what everyone says is _my_ foul temper so I am banned from communications for a week. Oh, could they be more awful? A week! A whole week without speaking to my beloved! It is torture and they are cruel! I can't stop weeping. By the time I'm allowed to talk to him again my eyes will be so red and swollen that he won't even recognize me! Or worse what if, in my absence, of not responding to his messages, he finds another and breaks our engagement? I can't bear the thought. If he does, I will shut my self up in here forever! I'm sure I will never love another like I do him.

**09.18.2461**

**08:45**

Oh! Why are parents so cruel?! I begged Mother to let me at least send Alfor one message so that he would not worry or become offended but she refused! She said I was being ridiculous, that I needed to stop acting like a 'love sick ninny' and remember my dignity. Then she adds that it's best that Alfor not know the real reason for my being unavailable. It would not improve his opinion of me in the least. So I asked what she meant, by "improve his opinion of me" And she answered that' he does not need to think of you as more of a child than he already does.'

Oh! How her words stung causing me to burst into fresh tears. Which only earned me another admonishment and then began The Lecture….on duty, on remembering that I must put my own feelings aside and think only for the good of our nation and that of the citizens of Altea that I would be charged with caring for and setting a good moral example for…and if I would be a queen then I must learn to carry myself like one…and on and on. And on.

I know she is right. It is the cost of my birthright, to always put the needs of my people before my own. But it is so hard sometimes. There are times, like now, when just the thought of the burden overwhelms me. Times when I wish I could be like anyone else and just devote my life to my own pursuits.

**09.20.2461**

**13:19**

Good news! My 'week' of punishment is finally lifted! Not through any relenting of those Harridans Nanny or Mother, but by a wonderful quasar! A happy little accident had occurred in deep space billions of years ago and now blasts of gamma radiation will be bombarding the quadrant for the next three months or so. The radiation will interfere with communications via the planet and the ship making a launch all but impossible. It could also affect the electronics of the ship board computers fouling them up completely. So we are leaving ahead of schedule because to delay until it has passed would not bring me back from Terra in time for my wedding.

I depart in three days. There is so much to do.

Oh! And I spoke to Alfor finally! He does not think of me as a child at all! He says I have a vivacious spirit. So there, Mother.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comic and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way. **

**A Lady's Place: Memoirs of Aurora, **

**The Lost Duchess of New Rhinelind and Mother of King Lotor I**

**9.22.2461**

**23:44**

I am exhausted. Absolutely exhausted! There has been such a maelstrom of activity getting ready for this trip that I'm not sure if I have had more than four hours of sleep altogether. I wouldn't have thought that packing some clothes and organizing some travel documents would require an entire household. But it does. Mother is completely beside herself because of the 'catastrophe' of my wardrobe. Or lack of it, rather. Most of the gowns that we had fitted for my trip are no where close to ready and she thinks that it is absolutely impossible for me to take anything from my closet. 'It would be an embarrassment for the future princess to be seen traveling in her day gowns.' She claims. 'My daughter will not be holographed in the same dress she was wearing a week ago like some peasant's child…' and other such nonsense. The things she worries about. Not the quasar and its' deadly radiation. Or pirates. Or jump-drive failure. But public opinion of my wardrobe is apparently more important. Honestly, it is all so superficial. And what's worse, the plan she's devised is to take my sister Orla's new gowns and her own and patchwork pieces of them together to fit me. I shudder to think of what the results will be. And I don't think I have to mention the melancholy that Orla has fallen into because of it. She had been so excited to have her first adult dresses with floor length hemlines.

My poor sister, I feel so badly for her, mother trods upon her more than anyone. She is so unlike the rest of us. Mother says that she takes after the women in father's family- mousey, plain, sickly and brown. Perhaps that's why she shuns her so. It is not entirely true either. While she may not have the sunny bright hair and cobalt blue eyes that Ariella and I luckily inherited from Mother, she is a more 'faded' version; she does have a beautiful complexion and a sweet face. But she is so timid! If only she would smile more! When I am Princess I will ask—no! I will command!- that she be sent to be among my ladies in waiting, then perhaps once she's away from Mother's constant critique she may finally blossom.

* * *

**9.23.2461**

**22:31**

Oh, joy and happiness! I cannot sleep! Today I have been informed that we are departing from Leon tomorrow. We are taking a shuttle from there and will rendezvous with the passenger liner when it crosses through _Hwav'e Yir_ near Tyrus. But we are launching from the airbase in Leon Province! And we have been invited to stay at Lowen Castle!* Yes, yes! I will see my beloved before I leave. I have not spoken to him, being so entrenched in the Great Wardrobe Debacle, but he sent me this message:

_Dearest Aurora,_

_I know that you are busy with preparations for your trip but that does not make it less distressing to not be able to hear your voice or see your beautiful smile. As you must know by now, in honor of your coming Her Majesty has decided to hold a banquet welcoming her soon to be daughter-in-law. I hope that you are as filled with happiness as I am that I will be able to see your lovely countenance and tell you in person that you are my one, true beloved. _

_Yours Forever,_

_Alfor_

Dinner and dancing! (Mother is still very much appalled that Queen Nieve allows it! Especially for unmarried people. I wish I had a holo of her face when father insisted that she employ a dancing tutor. You would have thought every drain in the House had backed up!) I'm sure that I will be seated next to him and it will be just like it will be when we are wed. Mother has had Nanny drill me on my court etiquette and I have been practicing my curtsy now for over an hour and my legs are trembling from the effort. I can sink deep, nearly to the floor and spread my whole skirt out like flower. And rise and kick the train out from behind my presentation gown in one smooth motion and back away. The trick is to lift the back up as you kick, that way the hem doesn't get caught on your heel and tumble you flat on your bottom!

Oh, and speaking of hems and gowns, they are wonderful! Just wonderful. I don't know how the seamstresses did it, but truly they worked miracles. They combined the embroidered bodices from Mother's dresses with the full skirted pastel silks from Orla's, adding matching trim and beading along the hemlines. The style of the gowns themselves is very typical of the current fashion, but the splash of deeper jewel tones from Mother's is rather bold for an unmarried woman of my age. The color combinations are also unusual. For example, instead of pairing light blues and dark blues the seamstress (a new émigré from Terra, Genna, I think her name is) had chosen to match a brilliant turquoise silk-taffeta with light sea-foam green accents. Clearly no one had given her the 'memo' that young unmarried women and girls under the age of majority only wear pastels. Some contrasting trim is acceptable- otherwise how bland we all would look in solid blue, yellow or (the most horrid of colors!) pink!- but it's ALWAYS white or just a darker version of the overall pastel.

When I saw the collection, I was sure that Mother would collapse in a swoon, but the dresses are two pieces, some are three, allowing me to mix and match. Thus, creating the possibility of more traditional fashions when the situation calls for it. (Although, I vastly prefer the way they were presented to me) This also nicely solves the problem of me 'being seen in the same clothes day after day' during the long voyage to Terra that Mother was so (obsessed) concerned about. In any case, the Blue Dress as I like to call it, is lovely, and in spite of it's bold color is actually exceedingly modest and flatters my coloring immensely. Even Mother agreed that it called more attention to my eyes than anything else. Then she forbid me to wear it until I was well off-planet for fear of us appearing like a 'Family of Progressives' at court. (If she only knew what Alfor and I have spoken about! )

I particularly enjoy the one with dove grey silk skirts and a scarlet and gold beaded trimmed bodice, which has a dramatic portrait collar. It also has a sort of reversed scalloping in red velvet accenting the waist and sleeves. Should I appear wearing red and bare shouldered to meet my beloved?! Scandalous!

* * *

**9.24.2461**

**08:58**

As I write this we, Father, Mother Joshua and I, are travelling by rail to Lowen Castle*. The trip will take another three hours or so, and I am glad of it. I am still very excited to see my beloved and to go to Terra, but it has been tempered with sadness.

Last night a most unexpected thing happened. I had been sorting over the last of my sundries to pack when I heard scratching at my door. Ariella, my little sister had come to my room. With all the excitement and fervor over the sudden change in my departure date I had not seen or spoken to her since our squabble days ago. She was weeping and clutching her stuffed mallu. My heart broke at the sight. She said she had a nightmare and she was afraid that she would never see me again. Quite certain, even. She didn't want me to "go away thinking that I had knees like favi." At that, I scooped the poor munchkin up and hugged her close, nearly in tears myself and reassuring her all the while that I would, in fact, be back before she knew it.

It occurred to me then, while I held her and smelled the baby smell of her, that I would be gone for more than a year. And when I returned it would be to Lowen Castle where I would be married. After tonight, Woodhaven would no longer be my home and I would take none of the things in it with me. I will have a new family and a completely new life. I felt a deep apprehension then; a sort of chill seeping and coiling in my tummy. How would this new life be? Certainly not what I have been fantasizing about. Although I have been raised for it from the cradle, as it was always known that I would marry high enough to live at Court, the reality of life at a formal court was bound to be far different than here at my family's country estates. As the princess and future Queen I knew my every action would be scrutinized. How I wore my hair, were my dresses appropriate? Is my voice soft enough? Did I walk gracefully? Was my appetite dainty and simple? All of these things and many more would be the subject of gossip of the court and appraisal from my Mother in Law. I have no doubt that she will have definite opinions about all of it and I will undoubtedly never meet her famously exacting standards.

I let Ariella sleep with me and this morning I brushed and braided her hair for her, fixing it with the hairpins and decorative combs she liked to play with so much. I gave her a pot of lip rouge too, advising her to never show it to Nanny and that she could wear it when she came to court to see me. She cried when she left me again, making me solemnly promise that I would return and at our formal leave taking she burst away from Nanny and ran to me once more. My sweet little sister clung to my skirts, sobbing that I should not leave and Nanny fitfully pried her little hands off my dress. She only relented when I knelt down and kissed her, promising once more that all would be well. She gave me her stuffed mallu, damp with her tears "to protect me and keep me company in case I should be lonesome." The crowd that had gathered to see us off "Oh'ed and Aww'ed" sympathetically and there was some good natured laughter.

I have seen only a few of the hundreds holos right now being published to the NET of the "Departure Debacle" (As Mother calls EVERYTHING a 'DEBACLE.') My skirts are nearly raised to my knees and Mother's smile is as forced as the rictus [sic] on a corpse. I heard her on her comm call Nanny and order that Ariella get a thorough switching for humiliating The Family like that. I rolled my eyes, earning a glare from her. I may have said something too, had we been alone, but my lord Father would have admonished me sternly for disrespecting his Lady Wife. Surely I will never encounter and more nasty and witch-like personality than she.

But now as I get farther and farther from my home, my feeling of disquiet returns. As I remember the feel of Ariella's little body curled up next to me I can't say for sure who was comforting who last night.

* * *

**Lowen Castle is where Alfor's family holds their Summer Court, it was centrally located in Garam Province on the northern most peninsula of New Deutschlind. It was completely destroyed down to the foundations when Zarkon invaded Altea in 2496. The current "Castle of Lions", rebuilt in 2509, was actually built on the site of Garam Airbase sixty-five miles north of the ruins of Lowen Castle. Recent excavations have yielded an intact portion of the wine cellar, several original settler tombs and a small cache of jewelry hidden in a stone wall that had been vitrified by lazon fire.

Contrary to popular belief, Lowen Castle is not the location where the Voltron Force sought refuge after crash landing on Altea and first encountered Prime Minister Coran and the Princess Allura. That was actually Mayfair House one hundred and fifty miles south of Lowen Castle. For safety the four children were split up and Allura and her younger sibling were secreted away there. As a small inconsequential estate of lesser nobility it escaped the heaviest bombardment, however two wings were destroyed by fires lit when Zarkon's troops looted it while searching for the two remaining royal children. It was during these fires that Allura and her sibling were believed to have died, thus ending Zarkon's search for them and ironically saving the last member of the Altean Royal family. No evidence of Allura's sibling has ever been found, although many pretenders have emerged from time to time claiming to be her lost heir apparent.

_A/N: To aid me with continuity and logistical accuracy in my writing I actually did draw a map of both Arus/Altea and Doom/Galra/Korrinoth, complete with mountains, rivers, oceans, lakes, seas, cities and etc. When I'm finished adding color I plan to post them to my Deviant Art account which is under my same nom de plume, DrowningBlonde. Oh, and for the record, cartography is HARD. I will never look at a map the same way again._


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comic and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way. **

**A Lady's Place: Memoirs of Aurora, **

**The Lost Duchess of New Rhinelind and Mother of King Lotor I**

**9.23.2461**

**10:20**

Oh, this is going to be a long trip. For the last hour, Papa and Joshua have been discussing the pros and cons of mung beans versus quinoa. Apparently, one of Joshua's tasks when we get to Terra is to bring back new seed stock for cloning. For the life of me I don't understand what there is to argue about. Why doesn't he bring back some of both?

I would like to activate my ear buds and watch some holofilms on my comm, but Mother feels that I must memorize the names and titles of all the guests invited and at least one personal fact about each of them so that I will have something to converse about should the need arise. It is a boggling amount of information that I will never be able to remember when I need it. I don't understand why I must know the hobbies and habits of people I have never met. Won't it seem odd to them, as if I've been listening to gossip? I feel it would be less awkward if I were to just ask them about themselves. Surely, that's a subject everyone likes to talk about! And they would reveal to me what is most dear to them, rather than have me bring up some random fact about their estate or sibling.

**9.23.2461**

**11:02**

Finally! The battle is over and the Mighty Mung Beans have won! Hurray! And now a new debate has begun. They are speaking of business and the trade treaty with Pollux. It is an exciting topic that no one can agree on for obvious reasons. Noble opinions are so sharply divided about the issue that only last week a brawl broke out in the House of Lords! Father and Joshua absolutely agree with each other, but it doesn't stop them from having the most boring argument ever heard!

Joshua is a staunch Separatist, and thinks that Altea has no need of another world's involvement and that their influence can only bring corruption and dissent. Father, also a Separatist, but he says that keeping an open trade with Pollux helps us keep an eye on them; stating that "the devil you do know is better than the one you don't." Joshua of course agreed that the Poluxians are devils and we'd be better served if they would have been obliging and died out completely after the Great War. Father agreed saying that the Moirians have never been an obliging people; even on Terra (where they were called 'Mericans) they were dangerous and incited anarchy throughout the world with their worship the Goddess of Liberty. Joshua agreed too, as he always does with father. Then there began a great discussion on whether or not the decision to Offer noble titles to the Moirians was a good idea. I rather agree with father. The sooner they got on board with the rest of us the better we would be.

It is rather funny how history repeats itself. A number of Polluxians that had been taken prisoner in the skirmishes that erupt from time to time between our world and theirs had been collected from their various prisons and exiled to the island continent of Moiria. Not being particularly habitable, the interior is mainly scrub and brush desert in the north and ice fields in the south, it was believed that the necessity of just staying alive would keep them too busy to cause any trouble. For a time it did, and the census takers reported back that their numbers were growing too slowly to be of any concern and that they had revived the governance of their Old Republic. Electing their officials and swapping them out every few years when they became tiresome or bothersome. Meeting in committee every time a decision was needed and casting ballots to decide what must be done. It seemed the very definition of inefficiency.

It was source of great amusement until Nobles reported their land-workers and craftsmen leaving for Moiria en masse. Just up and abandoning their land-parcels and Lords for the promise of 100 tithe-free acres of dry dirt in Moiria! And what could the nobles do to stop them? Nothing! There were many that demanded it be made a crime to leave without the Landlord's permission, and, if granted, that they must pay a heavy fine equal to ten years of their annual tithe. However, just the idea of that seemed to make matters worse! The people began fleeing, as if for their lives! Indeed, the notion did reek of slavery. Father, clever statesman that he is, sought to keep our population happy and within our land's borders. He generously gifted equal portions of the abandoned parcels tithe free for ten years for those who stayed. When the other nobles saw how successful this system was they adopted it.

He is fond of saying that a man gets more bees with honey than with vinegar! And he was right! His success had the added effect of making my father and King Alterus fast friends and His Majesty created my father Duke of New Rhineland and all the undeveloped land from the edge of our property to the West Coast including the Warsaw Peninsula with its' immensely profitable ports and harbors. Our position at court was raised dramatically. Many of those gifted with tithe free lands became quite wealthy and were able to acquire more land from those in default of their tithe. Thus, creating a whole new social class of Landowner and many, many children named Joshua, Aurora, Orla and Ariella in honor of our family.

The Liberty Loving Polluxians (now named Moirians), found great veins of a rare, but powerful energy source called Lazon in their uninhabitable deserts and ice fields and have become quite wealthy and powerful themselves.

So it would seem that all has worked out well for everyone. However, there are those who think that the Moirians have set a fearful example and are becoming a "Dangerous Nation" which threatens to upset the peace of Altea. Since Moiria provides Altea with a great deal of its energy they must be handled carefully. Father believes that Entitling the Moirians and bringing them into the Kingdom is the best way to end this Democratic foolishness. Perhaps he is right, and maybe the Moirians, with their close ties to Pollux can help with the 'fence mending' as well.

**9.23.2461**

**12:13**

We have just finished luncheon and mother has left the compartment to lie on her couch in our suite to aid 'her digestion' and asked me if would come too. I declined, saying I would like to finish memorizing the introduction list for dinner this evening. Which is not true at all. Simply stated I have no desire to be trapped in such a small space with her while she naps and passes the gas built within her too tight corset. So I listened to my brother and father resume their discussion of Pollux for some time, pretending to read while trying to follow their conversation about embargos, restrictions and contraband.

It is very curious to me why there must be such a tight rein on all this. The war with Pollux is long past, we either need to tear down the fence or shore it up once and for all. From what I gleaned from the both of them -and believe me, it sounded a great deal like a man arguing his own point with himself!- we would be far better off being on amicable terms with our 'distant cousins' than having them as our enemies. Altea may be leaps and bounds ahead of them in technology, but that will not last so long as Joshua thinks! The Polluxians have been aligned with the Drule ever since we exiled them after The War. Now they are becoming fast friends with the most powerful race in the galaxy.

**9.23.2461**

**12:51**

It stinks in here. Paul is an idiot. A boring, redundant idiot. Who doesn't like women and jealous of their hair because he was probably bald as an egg.

It seems I am confined again for unladylike behavior.

Previously, I had been listening to Papa and Joshua discuss the Pollux treaty and I interjected my reasoning of why we need to become friendly with either the Polluxians or the Drule but ideally both, if we wish to be secure. Well, let me tell you, both of them stopped and stared at me as if I were a dog that suddenly started to speak with words. Joshua frowned and told me not to worry about Drules. But, to my surprise, Papa shushed him, saying that I was indeed correct and that only last year Drule envoys and ambassadors came from King Zarkon of Korrinoth to visit and establish good relations with us.

Joshua started at the mention of The Usurper King. He scowled and said that Altea had no need of the help of barbarians and heathens. I asked what he knew of the Drule, because so far as I knew he had never met any. He said 'I should not worry about what he knew' and that he had learned all he needed to from Master Cleric Paulius. He said they are Pagans and their hedonism and lack of morality would corrupt our way of life. I thought it was complete rubbish and I said as much! (Master Cleric Paulius is a relic who should stick to his sermons and stay out of politics. It is this line of thinking that holds Altea back!)

So, I asked what he meant by 'hedonism' and that is when Mother chose to re-enter the compartment and having heard every word I just said chastised all of us soundly -Papa most of all!- for having such a discussion in the presence of a young, impressionable girl. Then she ordered me to go sit quietly by myself in the suite and read several of Paul's Letters on the proper behavior of virtuous women.

Obediently, I apologized for my outburst, but inwardly I seethed! Only a fool would not see that building a relationship with our "barbarian" neighbors would protect us from possible aggression from Pollux. To rebuff the Drule could only lead to them becoming more partial to those who have so recently been our enemies.

Honestly! Mother is ridiculous! Discussing the Drule culture is an unfit topic of a lady?! For heaven's sake, the way she and Joshua act, should I be afraid that I will be thoroughly corrupted by the mere sight of one?


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron/Go Lion or any of their characters. They are the property of WEP and Devil's Due Comic and Toei Animation. All other characters are mine. This is written purely for entertainment purposes and I am not monetarily compensated in any way. **

**A Lady's Place: Memoirs of Aurora, **

**The Lost Duchess of New Rhinelind and Mother of King Lotor I**

**9.23.2461**

**15:23**

None of this is my fault. Not. My. Fault. I did not plan for my sister to latch herself onto my skirt. Nor did I arrange for some degenerate with a holocam to purposely point it up my dress. It is a SCANDAL of the worst kind! All my mother can talk about is how humiliated SHE is! SHE is! As if holos her unmentionables are being forwarded to inboxes and social media sites across the Denubian. Father and the Royal Press Minister have done their best to stop the circulation of the holos here on Altea, but surely the images of my derrière will precede me where ever I go on Terra. It is indeed humiliating. I feel so degraded. Violated. Yet, no one cares about how this has affected me.

Everyone is scandalized because I was not wearing bloomers and hose; I was wearing panties and stockings. It is summer. It is hot. I was not riding a horse. Or climbing a tree. I was boarding a train. With my family. And perhaps that's what the big deal is. All the prigs are whispering, "What kind of young woman goes about with next to nothing under her dress?!" One that doesn't want yards of sweaty cotton wadded up her nether regions for hours on end, that's what kind!

I suppose I'm ranting and this makes no sense and perhaps I should begin at the beginning. We were nearly an hour away from Leon when Joshua, who had been surfing the Net on his comm suddenly became very agitated. "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" He said, in a sort of frenzy. Then he looked at me and shouted "Aurora! You silly fool!" and he jumped out of his seat and stormed out of the cabin, leaving Papa and myself staring at each other, dumbfounded at his behavior. A moment later he came back with Mother on his heels. She was white as a sheet! "Oh it's all ruined!" She wailed. Then looked—no, glared at me and said "How could you?! I did not raise you to do these things!" Finally, Papa stood up from his seat and demanded to know what all the theatrics were about. Joshua handed him his comm and Papa took one look at it and sat down and covered his face with his hand. He handed it to me and when I first looked at it I didn't realize what I was seeing. At first I thought it was a holo of pillow or a folded towel or something. Until I looked at the accompanying images which were a series composed of Ariella grabbing my dress exposing the top of my stockings all the way up to the edge of my panties. Then I realized that it was not a piece of fabric; it was an extreme close up of my private parts. Yes, that's right, I arrived to meet my future in laws, the King and Queen of Altea, an hour or so AFTER holos of the crotch of my underwear have been plastered across the Net. The detail that holocams are capable of capturing is truly mortifying.

When we arrived it was obvious that the Palace was aware of the scandal brewing. Our escort got us to the Castle quickly, purposely bypassing the waiting press. I could tell by the sidelong (and very bold!) glances of the guards that they all had seen them. I wanted to crawl under the nearest rock and die. Just die! Oh, how I wish I could disappear entirely! And now it's all I can do not to cry. I just wanted to make a good impression on everyone and to make my family proud. But I have disgraced us all with a pair of lacey panties. At least they were clean.

**9.23.2461**

**16:35**

I am supposed to be resting but it is impossible with the fallout from "Panty-gate" crashing down around me.

Mother had come in to check on me. She told me that most of the images have been tracked down and are being expunged, but Her Majesty is quite worried about my 'moral compass.' I am still baffled why my morality is in question and not that of the PORNOGRAPHER who violated me. She said that Her Majesty has expressed to some people close to her that she fears that I may not be as suitable a choice as she had once thought.

Because of this Mother is very worried about the unorthodox colors of my gowns. She has been rummaging through my wardrobe now for thirty minutes trying to find something modest, pastel and maidenly enough to over-ride my inglorious entrance into public life.

**9.23.2461**

**17:08**

Alfor. My true love and Knight in Shining Armor! How wonderful it was to see a message from him! I'm sure he had heard of and probably had seen those disgraceful holos and I was desperate to confide my misery and how oh so sorry I was for causing a scandal when my Beloved sent me the most lovely bouquet of lilies (pink and white for innocence and purity!) and a hand-written message from him:

_Dearest Aurora,_

_Words cannot express how happy I am that you are finally here! There is nothing anyone can ever do to alter my love for you or lower your esteem in my eyes. I can not wait for the day when we are united in marriage and I will hold you and keep you safe forever._

_Yours Always,_

_Alfor_

I knew he would not falter. At least there is one person who does not judge me.

**9.24.2461**

**1:57**

I can not sleep! I keep going over it all in my mind! The presentation. Dinner. Dancing. Alfor. It is all so much to take in. My emotions are on a pendulum swinging between elation and despair!

My presentation to Their Majesties was miserable. If it was not for the fact that I could see my Beloved's smile when he saw me I would have rather walked over hot coals and knelt on ground glass than traversed the expanse of the throne room and curtsied to the King and Queen. His Majesty's countenance was pleasant enough but Queen Nieve did not even look at me! Even though my eyes were down cast I could tell that although she could not refuse me entrance, she, in her own way, denied my presence. When the King bade me to rise I looked up to see that her eyes were pointedly fixed on some object, over my head, a thousand miles away. I was not the only one who noticed either! As I backed away I could hear the whispers and tittering of the courtiers. I would have continued to retreat all the way home to NewRhinelind if it was not for Alfor meeting my eyes and smiling! That was when I knew all would be well. It is not Queen Nieve's choice, but Alfor's.

I am sure he felt the same way because as I made my rounds of introductions each time I chanced to look for him, wherever he was he was looking at me! Purposely. Pointedly. I knew that I would only get a few words with him at this gathering and none privately, but he made sure that everyone there knew that there was only one person he wanted to see. Me. And the gossiping courtiers noticed as well! I saw them looking and whispering.

I noticed that the Moirian Ambassador spent a great deal of time chatting up my father. (Who later assured me that the "Unfortunate Incident" has engendered a great deal of sympathy with our Southern neighbors.) Papa said the Ambassador was appalled that someone would exploit a young woman in such an awful way and that "freedoms of the press and expressions suffer for such disgraceful abuses" He said he will be sure to report back that I "maintained my grace and composure in the face of such an egregious assault on my flawless character." I'd certainly hope so. My father, and by extension NewRhinelind, is now Moiria's largest purchaser of lazon energy.

But not everyone was supportive. The Duke and Duchess of SummerLind made point to greet my parents coldly and barely acknowledged me with a nod. They have a daughter, Aerial, a few years younger than me that they would love to see in my place. From what I seen of her in pictures she is very pretty and petite, with golden brown hair, tawny skin and blue-green eyes. I am lucky that NewRhinelind joins Lowen Province and that my marriage to Alfor would unite the entire Western Hemisphere of Altea under one family. Had we still been Landlords with only the Essen Peninsula to our name I'm certain my marriage contract to Alfor would have been broken, or never happened in the first place. I suppose I am also lucky that Aerial is still too young to be presented at court. As of yet, that is. I'm sure her ambitious parents and the disparaging Queen Nieve will find an excuse to bring her here while I am gone. The idea makes me feel ill.

I heard Mother and Papa talking in hushed tones about it earlier when we had gone back to change for dinner. In addition to the Scandal, it was reported back to Mother that Queen Nieve is distressed about my height. Apparently when she saw Alfor and me standing together she noticed that we were nearly eye to eye. I believe 'gawky bean pole' is the description she used. Mother put forth to the wags that I was wearing heeled shoes as anyone does when they are formally dressed and that my height will be an asset for any children I bear.

The whole conversation just made me feel like the tall, scrawny, favi-kneed, pulley bean that Ariella said I was. I am tall for woman, 180 cm. I'm the same height as Joshua, but that is likely to change as he is younger than me and still has some years to grow. In any case Alfor is still taller than me, by at least three inches and for once I agree with Mother, our children will be MAJESTICLY tall. There won't be any chance of any stunted little runts like that Aerial could have! (The whole family is short! And what's worse, she gets her height from her father! Ha!)

In light of all this, Mother was very worried and was considering a last minute cancellation of my trip to Terra. Or even worse, accompanying me herself. I was walking behind them (thankfully!) and they could not see the look of horror that must have come over my face. Papa assured her that that wouldn't be necessary. He had spoken already to His Majesty, who it seems is quite fond of me and thinks of me as a daughter already. He also mentioned that 'arrest warrants have been issued for the scoundrels who would libel the future Princess.' Mother still has severe doubts about the security of the engagement. She is convinced that my year long absence will provide some more opportunities for me to create scandal and push the young Aerial into favor with Queen Nieve. I started to interject that Alfor says he loves me and will marry no one but me, but I was silenced by both my parents. Papa settled the matter explaining that my trip will give more than enough time for this 'tawdry business' to fade from memory and that cancelling the trip or Mother going with me (Heaven Forbid!) would create more questions about my virtue. Thank goodness for Papa!

I'm tired now, and it has felt good to get all this off my chest. How I have rambled on! And I haven't even gotten to what happened at dinner! And most importantly AFTER dinner! Well, until tomorrow, Dear Confidant! I need my rest; I depart for Terra at 18:30 tomorrow.


End file.
